Pastoral Parish Council Meeting Minutes
1900-2030, Wednesday, March 11th, 2015
The River Chapel
Attendance
Present: Melissa Clark (President), Tamara Criswell (Secretary), Dee Dee Monaco, Deacon Carl, Joe Adkins, William Kouam, Paul Demmy, and Mike Storey
Absent: Msgr. Cody, Cynthia Adkins, Bryan Ferguson, Mark Voris, and Jay Carini
Guest: Linda Wolf, Director of Religious Education at St. Christopher
Opening Prayer: Led by Deacon Carl
Secretary’s Report:
Minutes will be approved from February during March meeting.
Pastors’ Report/Business Report: Deacon Carl
· The flooring will be a two part project
· A new phone system is moving forward.
· Multi-purpose center:
o We are in Phase I of this project then which will start in May.
o The overall concept is to include a gym/Parish Hall with a kitchen, Classrooms and Stage
o The group will be touring other parishes to see examples of multi-purpose rooms, such as St Tim’s, St Paul’s, St Matthew’s, etc. This will happen in April.
o Main goal of is to allow the parish to grow and expand. Especially with the growth from the Grandview Yard.
o Phase II of the project will be development. It will last about 6 to 12 months. Prior to proceeding, we will need 50% of the cash and 100% pledged as required by the Dioceses
§ Joaquin Serantes is the architect for the project and is predicting the cost to be between 1.5 and 2 million.
§ A model of the project will be done.
· Adoration and Reconciliation: Attendance and participation Numbers are increasing. The times have been good for parishioners.
· A new Director of Religious Education has been hired, Linda Wolf. She is currently doing some preliminary work for teachers, reviewing curriculum etc. Melissa will be inviting her to attend our March meeting.
Faith Formation Report:Dee Dee
· Lent Bible Study—we have 19 attendees currently with both new and returning members. – The Alpha program is currently being considered for a future bible study. The Young Professionals bible study is also full. The Parish self-study was done in 2008 and is updated yearly, then submitted to the Diocese.
· Dee Dee shared a handwritten note from Brianna Orian a new parish member
· Alpha has been a great experience. More talk about having it at St. Christopher’s. Deacon explained it may be possible to get a grant from the Catholic Foundation to bring Alpha here.
· Dee Dee had a 10 minute Study Challenge and would like to have it added to the website. Please see handout.
· Lighthouse Media has audio programs available. Dee Dee brought a large basket of their CDs. She explained she shares these with the bible study participants. We discussed having a library of catholic reading available to check out to the parish.
Old Business:
· Catholic Men’s Conference: Paul was in attendance. The Conference had 4 speakers: two of which were Chris Spellman, and Ralph Martin.
o He really recommends it for next year
o There were approximately 2,600 participants and 5 from St Chris.
o The conference is growing. It is available to listen to on Catholic Archives.
NEW BUSINESS
· Welcome Mike Storey, from the Young Professional Group.
o Mike explained there are approximately 50 member of the group.
o The age is flexible, it is not a restriction.
o They have a bible study, gather after Last Call, and are actively participating in service events. They are interested in participating for the Parish Festival
· Linda Wolf: Welcome our new Director of Religious Education.
o PSR is from K to 6th grade.
o Classes are from 10:10 to 11:10, between masses.
o She is need of classroom helpers and teachers for the upcoming year and Vacation Bible School (VBS).
§ She needs teachers for K/1; 3, 4 and 5 grade. She has a teacher for 6 th grade and she will be teaching 2nd grade.
§ Teachers will need to complete PSR program, Protecting God’s Children and be finger printed.
§ Beth Simmons teachers our teens, 7 and 8 grade separately.
o Chris Ross will be leaving after many years of service in May. Linda is gather information at this point.
o VBS will be July 27 to 30th, Tuesday- Friday from 9:30 to 12:30.
§ It will be done at Trinity Elementary School
§ The theme is Science by Sunlight/Gospel Light
§ VBS is from K-5. She is looking for 6th graders and up to be helpers.
o She will have information available about all programing on the Webpage, bulletin announcements and pulpit announcements
· FEMA: Developing High Quality Emergency Operation Plans for Houses of Worship.
o Please see handout or the webpage: https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/33007
o A security plan for cases of emergency needs to be developed. Deacon Carl will check with the Diocese to see if there is something in place.
o Stats show: 3.8% of active shooting happened in house of worship
o The Director of FEMA suggested Franklin County Sheriff.
o Former Columbus Police Detective, Fred Bowditch (Bowditch Consulting) is available to provide free training to address active aggression against houses of worship and schools.
o Discussion on how to prepare for aggressive behavior. There is a model: “Run, Hide, Fight” which is a 6 minute video.
· The first Parish Festival planning meeting is March 10th.
Ending Prayer & Adjournment
Closing Prayer by Deacon Carl
Melissa adjourned the meeting.
Next PPC Meeting—April 8th at 7pm in the River Chapel.
Minutes recorded by: Tamara Criswell, Secretary
Minutes reviewed and approved by: Melissa Clark, President